A Conversation
by Omoni
Summary: This is my own spin on the events preluding the beginning of TRY. It tells, instead, of Filia's attempt to recruit Luna Inverse to her side, and the results she recieves in the end.


A Conversation

**A Conversation**

Filia Ul Copt, priestess of the Fire Dragon King, was incredibly nervous.

It was taking her a great deal of control to not suddenly sprout a tail and scare the locals. Granted, those of the upper continent had surely had their share of the strange, and, to them, her tail would merely be another degree of it, but still. It was good practise, and she couldn't let fear override her common sense.

But it was scary! Filia looked around, up and down the streets that surrounded her, nervously clutching onto a grubby slip of paper in both hands tightly. Ever since the barrier that surrounded this land had dropped, there had been talks of venturing out and into the upper continent amongst the dragons of her temple, just to verify that the rumours of high-level magic were true. It was meant to be a pleasure trip, this venture into the north.

However, the sudden prophecy revealed by the Fire Dragon King put a hold on that. After trying to delve through the initial rhetoric and formulating the prophecy into understandable prose, it was discovered that not only did they have to venture out into the north anyway, but they also had to seek the renowned Ciephied Knight, Luna Inverse.

Filia gulped. Despite being several centuries old, she still had little experience in dealing with vast amounts of humans. Not only was venturing into a vastly populated city a huge step, but so was the fact that her elders trusted her to go alone and succeed. It was enough to fray her nerves at the edges.

It also didn't help that, despite having a fragment of Ciephied's will within her, Luna Inverse was rumoured to be fierce and sometimes repellent of people that she found unworthy of respect. Filia knew she had to tread carefully, despite her nervousness.

She couldn't fail.

The problem was, while she considered herself a very educated and learned dragon, she was simply just too unprepared for the sheer volume of people that surrounded her. The temple of the Fire Dragon King, while vastly populated, tended to be quiet and private due to its size. Dragons were free to inhabit the temple or live outside, and most priests chose the latter.

Filia was of the former, so while she was used to dragons-that-looked-like-humans in a handful of numbers once or twice a day, the sheer volume of Zephilian humans that crowded the streets made her reel with claustrophobia.

Hastily, she glanced down at the grubby paper in her hands. Half of it was covered in her own flowing script, displaying the full prophecy. The other half consisted of barely legible scribbles, also of her own hand, that she had written down in a hurry. These scribbles were the name of the Knight of Ciephied, where she lived, and where she worked.

Filia fund it strange that, despite the fact that Luna Inverse was a Knight, she still insisted on keeping a part-time job as a waitress. Filia couldn't imagine being able to juggle both and keeping her sanity. She had enough trouble managing the duties she had. Adding a whole set in addition would be too much.

She swallowed again, then lunged forward, braving the crowded streets once more. Occasionally, a person would bump into her, sparking her temper, but she managed to quash it down before she lost control.

She hoped this was worth it.

X X X

The chimes above the door sounded as Filia opened the door to the restaurant. She peered in cautiously before coming in, making sure she didn't bump into anyone as she did so. She had had enough of that out in the street.

As she got a closer look, she saw that it was just as crowded, if not more so, inside as it was outside. She couldn't even see a place to sit. It was a never-ending sea of humans. No wonder humans were prone to doing careless things. They were always so crammed together, even when eating!

"Welcome!" a husky female voice boomed out. Filia looked up and saw a tall, striking woman with shoulder-length hair and a curvy figure, clad in a waitress uniform. Filia felt her pulse speed up. There was no doubt about it: the woman matched the description she was given of Luna Inverse.

Luna was juggling two heavy-looking trays full of food and drink, and as she passed Filia, she called out, "There's a seat by the bar if you're alone. I'll be by to take your order in a sec!"

Filia opened her mouth to reply, but Luna was already out of earshot.

Speechless, Filia did as she was told, deftly avoiding stepping on anyone's feet as she walked through the crowd. She managed to succeed, thankfully, and she sat down gingerly on a hard, wooden stool. The low hum of humanity surrounded her, threatening to drown her if she wasn't careful.

As she waited, she brushed her bangs out of her sweaty face and adjusted her dusty robes. She had had no time to freshen up before she arrived. The Supreme Elder was strict on the fact that they had little time to waste, and Filia was not to delay. She sorely craved a cut of tea, but feared that pouring herself one from her own stock would insult Luna, and that was the last thing she wanted to do.

"Thanks for waiting," a familiar voice said, snapping Filia out of her tea fantasies. "What can I get you today?"

Filia glanced up and looked at Luna, really and truly looked at her. With a passing glance, one would never realise that this healthy young woman was a vessel of the most notorious God of all. Her purple hair hung around her face, and her eyes were curtained by thick bangs. Her smile was wide and mocking, and she leaned on the counter casually, poised to fetch and serve for her customers.

"The truth is," Filia said timidly, looking down at her hands. She was a little disconcerted, and it didn't help that she couldn't see Luna's eyes. "I need to discuss something with you. Privately."

Luna laughed, the sound hearty, as if she did it often. "There's no place more private than this. No one can hear us over their own voices."

Filia nodded. This was a good point. "Do you have time to speak to me? At length?" she wondered.

"Depends. Who are you?" Luna asked suddenly, her grin widening. If Filia didn't know any better, she would have sworn that Luna's teeth were sharp – or at least sharp-looking.

Filia felt her face go red. "Of course!" she stammered. What a horrible way to begin! "My name is Filia Ul Copt. I'm a priestess of the Fire Dragon Temple in the south. I'm here for…"

Luna held up a hand, silencing her in mid-sentence. Her smile was softer. She turned, cupped her hands around her mouth, and shouted, "Spot! You're on double duty!"

The doors flew open, and what looked like a werewolf flew out from the kitchens. He grabbed an apron, tied it on, and grabbed two trays. "You got it!" he said, rushing onto the floor.

Filia was shocked. "You let a werewolf tend to your customers?" she said in a quiet voice.

Luna laughed again. "What, Spot? He's harmless, and everyone here is used to him, anyways. He knows better than to try anything. He's also very cute, see?" she pointed to the werewolf, Spot, again, and Filia looked at him closer. She tried to see some degree of "cute" there, but found nothing, especially when it looked as if he was flirting with a female patron.

"Er, sure," Filia said uneasily.

As a reply, Luna reached behind the counter on her side and dragged out a stool. Before she sat down, with practiced ease, she pulled up a cup, dumped ice into it, and poured cold water into it. She placed it in front of Filia, then sat down and leaned over on the counter, her grin wide once more. "Okay. Start talking," she said. "You've come a long way to visit me. Is it trouble?"

Filia took in a breath. "I know that you are the Knight of Ciephied, and thus are connected to Lord Ciephied, and thus the Fire Dragon King that I serve."

Luna nodded. "Of course I am," she said calmly. "But that doesn't mean I know everything that HE does."

Filia flushed, embarrassed. "Oh no, I didn't mean it that way," she said. "I mean, because of your connection, you are quite obviously linked to why I have come here."

Luna leaned in closer. "And why have you come here, Filia Ul Copt?" she asked quietly.

Filia closed her eyes and took in a breath, determined to recite the prophecy by memory.

"'There shall be a controller of a dark star that shall call forth the light.

And the world shall be flooded with darkness.

Dragon's blood will spread, and following the power between light and darkness, a single star shall awaken.

Around the star shall spin five lights.

And the power shall be a darkness beyond twilight.

A brilliance beyond the dawn.

When the power is loosed, we shall fall to an arrow, which will split the heavens apart.'"

When she finished, she opened her eyes and looked at Luna. The smile was gone from the young woman's face, and she rubbed her chin in thought. When she said nothing, Filia continued.

"Those were the words of the prophecy spoken at my temple. We at the Temple feel that the part of this prophecy, the one that talks about the power between light and dark, neither God nor Demon, refers to humans, who serve neither. And because you hold a fragment of Ciephied's will and acts as His Knight, we feel that you, Miss Luna, are the one, the human, that the prophecy speaks of."

There. She had finally delivered the message. Her mission was now halfway complete. Now all she needed was to convince Luna to come back to the Temple with her, and from there –

"Actually," Luna said, her voice low with thought. "I don't think this prophecy is talking about me."

Filia felt her stomach clench, but she said nothing.

Luna went on, noticing that the colour had drained out of Filia's face. "Rather, while I understand why you came to me, and while I certainly am a good choice, I can think of someone better for the job."

Filia was taken aback. She instantly reacted with her temper instead of her diplomacy. She was tired, dirty, and miserable, and now she was wrong and being rejected as well? It was too much.

"Of all of the things to say," she said, her voice tight, "how can a Knight of Ciephied be the wrong choice in reference to a prophecy from one of His selves here on this world?!"

By the end of the sentence, she was close to yelling, and she felt her face burn once more, but she refused to apologize. Her pride won out on this point, this time. She had worked to hard to get to Luna, and she would be damned before she left without a good reason why.

Luna smiled slowly. "I didn't say I was the wrong choice," she replied. "I just said that I can think of someone more suited for the job than I am. The person I have in mind sounds exactly like the person you're describing."

Filia opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Instead, she decided to take a huge gulp of her water. She found that her throat was suddenly dry.

Luna went on. "The power between Light and Dark, Heaven and Hell…I don't think it refers to the power of Ciephied," she said somberly, her smile gone suddenly. She leaned forward, threading her hands together and resting her chin on top of them. "I think this would more aptly describe my little sister."

Filia looked up with a jerk. "Little sister?" she echoed, her voice a squeak.

"Yes." The smile returned, only this time, it was twisted in to something vaguely sinister. "Two years younger than me and cursed with the wanderlust. I doubt that you have heard of her outside of the barrier, but here she has made quite a name for herself, between terrorizing bandits, kingdoms, and saving the world."

Filia was instantly mystified. "Saving the world?" she repeated.

Luna nodded. "You know that the reason that the barrier collapsed is because of the demise of Hellmaster Phibrizzo, correct?"

Filia nodded. "Many of the priests held arguments about this, declaring that it was actually Chaos Dragon Gaav's death that caused the collapse. But when we investigated it closer, it was discovered that Gaav's part in maintaining a pillar of the barrier had expired long before he did. Hellmaster's power was brought in to replace it, and since then had upheld the barrier along with the other four retainers. Gaav's power instead turned into a supplement for the others."

Luna nodded slowly. "You're very learned for someone who had, before now, never set foot into our part of the world."

Filia looked down into her cup. "We have to be. It is our way, as servants of Ciephied."

Luna made a noncommittal noise, one that Filia didn't quite comprehend, but she let it go. "In any case, do you have any idea who killed Phibrizzo?" she wondered.

Filia frowned. She actually had to think about it. Were there reports about who had destroyed the Hellmaster? Or had she just missed them?

"My sister did," Luna answered, before Filia could start to guess. "Single-handedly, my sister walked into Sairaag with every intention of killing one of the most powerful Dark Lords of all of the Demon Race, and she walked out not only after having done it, but also ready to take on more."

Filia's grip suddenly tightened on the glass of water. She felt her heart speed up in shock. "You mean to tell me that she went in and killed him with her own power?" she whispered.

Luna looked away, chewing on her lip. It was the first time Filia had seen her look confused. "I'm not sure of the exact circumstances. To be honest, there are so many rumours, and no confirmations from her, herself, that it's hard for me to come up with a true answer to that."

She sighed. "When we were younger, we went with my mother and visited the town of Dilse, where the elders were giving a public presentation of the manuscript of the Claire Bible that they had to anyone who came by. The fragments that they read from hardly made any sense to me, despite my own magical capacity and intelligence, but for some reason, despite her youth, my sister was not only able to delve through the smatterings of nonsense, she was also able to use the formulae she found and create a spell of her own invention."

Filia's thoughts were racing through her mind, realising very quickly and suddenly WHO Luna's little sister was, and wondering why, with a last name like 'Inverse', it hadn't occurred to her sooner.

"The young woman who can use Chaos magic," Filia said softly. "Lina Inverse."

Luna suddenly grinned. "Ah, so you have heard of her after all! Don't let her know you have; she'll get a big head about it."

Filia wondered if anyone within the Dragon Races had no idea who Lina Inverse was. Word had spread throughout the entire world of the young woman with chestnut hair who sought power to destroy the Demon Race and who could touch Chaos and not be consumed by it. The thought of her as a regular woman was almost scary.

"And you think that she will be the one to fulfill the prophecy?" Filia wondered, looking up at Luna once more.

Luna nodded. "Of course I do. Think about it: she's the one that constantly walks between Heaven and Hell the most. The things she gets into, from being the pawn of Demons to checkmating some of the most powerful amongst them…who would be better than her?"

It made sense. The more Filia thought about it, the more it was coming clear to her how much it made sense. She wondered, once more, how any of them could have overlooked such a woman.

"I'm starting to see it your way, Miss Luna," Filia said softly. "Do you happen to know where I can find her?"

Luna rubbed her chin. "The best way to locate my nomad sister is to follow the rumours. If you manage to find a trail of burned bandits as you go, you're on the right track. Or," she slapped a fist in her palm. "perhaps she's also joining the delegations!"

Filia blinked. "Delegations?"

Luna smiled. "I see you're the type to block the noise out instead of opening your ears to listen, right?"

Filia blushed. "There are just so many people here!" she protested, ashamed at being so transparent.

"In any case," Luna went on, to Filia's relief, "many of the kingdoms here are sending out a bunch of delegations down south, to where the edge of the barrier once stood, so that as a nation we can greet and make contact with kingdoms and perhaps expand our borders."

Filia nodded, but didn't say what was on her mind. It seemed, to her, rather presumptuous of the upper kingdoms to assume that they could prance around and demand things after a thousand years of separation, but it wasn't really her place to pass judgment.

"You could probably find her there," Luna concluded, snapping her out of her reverie. "Just ask around, follow the rumours, ask if anyone has seen a chestnut-haired flat-chested demon, and you'll find her."

Filia blinked, her eyes wide. "Flat-chested demon? Isn't that harsh?"

Luna laughed loudly. "Not if you meet her! Trust me, that's the first impression she gives, and it's the ONLY impression you'll remember!"

Despite the teasing, Filia got the impression that Luna loved her sister very much, and was proud of her.

Or maybe it was just assumption.

Either way, Filia realised that it was Lina that she needed, not Luna, and that if she was going to be back to the temple on time, she had to leave now. She had a whole other stretch of journey to cover, and most of it was backtracking.

"If that is the case," Filia said now, rising to her feet slowly, "then perhaps I should be on my way."

Luna stood up as well, looking disappointed. "Really? But we were just getting started."

Filia was touched by how genuine she sounded. "I thank you, but the prophecy is a little time-sensitive, so the sooner I bring Miss Lina back to the temple with me, the better."

She turned to go, then stopped, realising that, in her haste, she was being rude. She turned back and bowed deeply, making sure to stop before her head hit the counter. "Thank you very much for your time, Miss Luna," she said formally. A thought suddenly occurred to her. "Do you, perhaps, have any messages that you would like for me to give to your sister?"

Luna chewed her lip, then grinned. It was the same grin from before, the slightly-manic twist of her lips. "Yes. Two things: First, tell her that she was actually the runner-up, and that she was only chosen because your first choice was too busy."

Filia blinked. "Why would you want me to tell her that?" she wondered.

Luna laughed. "Because I know her, and she'll need a good verbal smack upside the head to ease that arrogance of hers."

Filia shifted on her feet, suddenly wary. What was she getting into, exactly? "And the second thing?"

Luna turned away, leaned down, and grabbed a pad of paper from under the bar. She ripped a page out, and hastily scribbled something quickly. She then folded it up, put it in an envelope, and sealed it. She held it out to Filia.

"If she tries to give you the runaround, or if she simply refuses, just give her this. It'll change her mind. Don't say it's from me, though," Luna's smile turned feral. "Let her figure that out for herself."

Filia took the letter gingerly. "Alright," she agreed.

"And one more thing before you leave? If I can offer some advice?"

Filia nodded. "Please."

Luna brushed the bangs away from her eyes, so suddenly, that Filia only caught a miniscule glimpse of the glittering and cunning eyes that were perpetually hidden beneath. "Make it into a game for her, will you? Test her; keep her guessing, before you tell her the whole story."

"Why?" Filia was almost tired of asking that, now.

Luna shrugged, leaning over and placing two trays on the counter. "She likes it that way."

Filia watched Luna stack a few glasses on both of the trays, waiting for her to elaborate. When she didn't, she decided that the conversation was over now. She bowed again. "Thank you very much, Miss Luna," she repeated, just for good measure.

Luna hoisted the trays up and nodded, the fierce smile back on her face. "Have a good trip, Miss Filia," she replied. She turned, and with a toss of her head, strode out onto the floor again, shouting out, "Spot! Back in the kitchens!"

As she sped around the room, the werewolf dashed back behind the counter and back into the kitchens without a word or protest.

Filia watched Luna weave in and out around the tables, smiling faintly. She figured that this would only be the first of a chain of events that would get weirder and weirder with time.

She turned, and without a second glance, walked out of the restaurant, never guessing how right she was.


End file.
